Halloween 2014 Trick or Treating

Trick or treating with the kids was really fun this year.  I borrowed a bee keepers suit from someone in our ward who really does keep bees.  It was perfect to dress up as a beekeeper while walking around with a little bumblebee.  The kids were super excited to go out, they had everything planned out, and they both practiced saying "Twick or Tweet."  

 Zabien particularly enjoyed ringing everyone's doorbell - that very well may have been his favorite part.  When the home owners would open the door, I would look at Zaby and say, "What do you say?"  I expected him to say "trick or treat," but what he always said turned out to be even cuter - "Roar!" is what came out of his mouth.  Of course, he was trying to stay true to his costume.  Some houses had ghosts on their porches as well.  At those houses, Zaby immediately said "Boo" when they opened the door.  Eliza put all of her treats in her bucket, eager to get more.  Zabien opted to try and eat everything given to him - he didn't like putting things in his bucket .  He held a bunch of candy in one hand, and ate piece after piece with his other hand.

Here are the kids with all their loot.

I borrowed this awesome costume from someone in our ward who really is a bee keeper.  It took me a little while to get used to the hood, but it turned out to be a successful costume.  It was so fun to go as a bee keeper when Eliza went as a bee.  We had a lot of comments along with a lot of treats.

We went to some new houses this year.  We will definitely be returning to those houses year after year; they give 2 or 3 full size candy bars to each trick or treater.  I guess this is the benefit of not having that many children in our neighborhood.

Yes, they got way more treats than we know what to do with.  

Preschool and playgroup Halloween party

Eliza started preschool at the local high school at the beginning of October (more pictures and information coming about that later.)  She really enjoys going to preschool, and having parties and activities that her brother gets to go to makes her even happier.  I love that she loves her brother so much that she wants him to go to everything with her.  For the Halloween party, all family members were invited - parents and siblings.  Zabien was particularly excited to put on his "Roar!" (tiger) costume.  He wasn't a big fan of the tiger hood, but he wore the costume all day, only taking it off for bed.  He didn't stop there, he wore it for a couple more days after Halloween.  

Eliza was a cute little bumblebee.  Here she is trick or treating to various classrooms with her high school buddy, Sam.  When Eliza first starting attending the preschool, she really didn't say much to anyone.  By the end of the month, she chatted her buddy's ear off.  The entire time they were trick or treating around the high school, she told her "buddy" Sam all about her costume, why she chose it, her brother's costume, what she was hoping to get from trick or treating, and even that she was going to have a baby.  

After trick or treating, we went back to the classroom and had Halloween treats.  I took the kids out of their costumes because it was so warm in the classroom, they were both starting to sweat.  Each parent signed up to bring a treat of some kind, so there were about 16 different things to choose from.  Eliza made sure that Zaby had a seat right next to her.  

 When snack time was over, the kids broke open a pinata.  For some reason, pinatas absolutely terrify Eliza.  She doesn't want to see them break (or anything break for that matter) even if they are full of treats. She stayed at her table instead of going over to the rug to participate.  Eliza and Zaby were the only ones not circled around the pinata.  I kept trying to coax them over closer to the pinata and explained to them that lots and lots of treats were inside.  Finally, after all the other children had a turn hitting the pinata, Zabien decided to give it a shot.  He loves to swing and hit things at home, but in front of a crowd of people, his shy nature seems to come out.  He tapped the pumpkin one time with the stick and called it good.

 After much persuading, I finally convinced Eliza to give it a shot.  I have no pictures of her hitting the pinata because she would only try if I was holding onto the stick with her.   It's hard to take a picture of someone hitting a pinata when you are helping them hit it.  I would have liked a picture because I was impressed that she finally decided to participate.

When the teacher finally burst open the piñata for everyone to grab treats, all the kids piled in the middle and excitedly filled their bags with treats grabbing handfuls at a time; all the kids except mine.  Zabien picked up 6 treats, then quickly retreated to the table.  Eliza carefully sorted through the treats, only picking up the ones she liked.  She put 6 or so in her bag, then looked at me and told me that she was going to pick up 5 more treats for Zabien.  Seriously, how thoughtful is that.  I assured her that Zaby had his own bag, and could pick up his own treats.  She could take as many as she wanted.  She carefully chose about 6 more, and said that she had enough.  As long as she was happy, who was I to complain that she didn't take more.   I ended up putting a few more pieces in Zaby's bag because I thought he would actually want more when it came down to eating them.  The got a lot of candy, but not as much as they could have gotten had they been a bit more aggressive.  I must say that I am actually glad that they are not overly aggressive when it comes to things like this, but I do want them to participate. 

After the piñata, there was a little bit of free time before dismissal.  Zabien made himself right at home with this wooden scooter bike. It was difficult to get him to leave when the time came.  He is sad that he hasn't been able to go to preschool with Eliza everyday. 

The very next day was Halloween.  I hosted a Halloween party for our playgroup at my house.  The kids came in costume, and participated in a variety of games and activities.  We had a bean bag toss through a cardboard Jack-O-Lantern.  We also had a pumpkin ring toss (top left picture).  The kids liked his one but preferred to set the rings on top rather than throwing them.  We also did pumpkin bowling (the bottom pictures).  Zabien particularly enjoyed this one.  Earlier I pasted black eyes and mouth on 10 milk cartons to make them look more like ghosts; however, after the first bowler, all of the eyes and mouth popped off.  I was hoping to use them for porch decorations later, so I ended up swapping the milk jugs for toilet paper rolls.  They actually worked better for this bowling activities, they were just lacking the ghost like decorations I had on the milk cartons.  We ate Halloween treats, played Halloween bingo, made a few crafts, and made popcorn glove hands. 

The kids really got into painting pumpkins - I'm surprised how long Zaby's attention was kept by this activity.  

After the party, the kids and I decorated our porch for trick or treating that evening.  

We put tea candles inside the milk cartons. It was cool to see them all lit up at night 

We even made a little ghost trail right up to our front door.

And finally... a few snapshots of the little Bumblebee.  

Buzz!  Buzz! 

The two cute kids together.  

Pumpkin Patch

Back in the middle of October, we took the children on a field trip to the pumpkin patch for playgroup.  We took a short hay ride to the patch.  One of the workers explained to the children how pumpkins grow and what to look for when picking out the perfect pumpkin.  As you can tell from the bottom right picture, Eliza for some reason, was not particularly thrilled by the hay ride.  Zabien on the other hand was so infatuated with the tractor that he became upset when I made him sit down (hence the grump look on his face).  She had so much fun at the pumpkin patch last year that I thought she would have a ball choosing her pumpkin.  This time, she chose the closest one to her, then went straight back to the wagon to wait for everyone else.  

Zabien was a bit more indecisive.  He grabbed the prickly part of the vine right away.  After that, he was very put off about holding his pumpkin - I ended up bagging and lugging it around for him.

After choosing our pumpkins from the patch, we headed over to the corn maze and giant slide.  

The corn maze this year was more challenging than last year.  We got turned around several times, and only managed to get out by having some of the moms stand by the entrances to the dead ends or roads we had already been on.  The kids didn't seem to mind at all - they thought running up and down the corn aisles through the mud was the best thing they could do that day.  

 I couldn't get any pictures of the kids going down the giant slide because Eliza went down in front of me, and I had to go down with Zabien in order for him to go.  You have to go down the slide in order to exit the corn maze.

Perhaps the highlight of the morning was the ice cream cone at the end of the tour.  This was Zabien's first ice cream cone, and he wasn't quite sure what to do with it when he got down to the cone.  A grandparent of one of the other children kept telling him to bite it.  Zaby stuck his face into the middle and when he went to "bite" the ice cream, he ended up sucking it up his nose.  After I demonstrated for him, he finally got it down and enjoyed the entire thing.

 Eliza is an old pro at ice cream cones - she wouldn't even share one bite with me! :)  Based on the smiles received when back in the van, I would say the morning was a success.

**  A couple of weeks later, our family rode the Perkasie Lions Club hayride.  It's something we look forward to every year.  I don't know why Eliza insisted on being so silly during this picture - no matter how much bribing we did, she wanted to "pretend" to be asleep.  The smile on her face clearly proves that she is merely pretending. The kids ask to go on a hay ride all the time, so it was a good thing we made it happen. 

 The entire ride Zabien said, "Brrm Brmm" over and over again.  If the tractor driver would have let Zaby even sit in the driver's seat, he would have been in little boy heaven. I find it a bit humorous that he has this football in his hand.  Every time we leave the house, we have to take something with us.  It is usually his little green scriptures, but this time it was his football.  I was a bit nervous he would suddenly throw it at someone (the kid has a good arm), but he held it tightly the whole time. 

An awkward picture at most.  I was trying to catch them getting off the hay wagon.  Picture quality took a back seat to safety though - they both needed help climbing down the ladder.  

5K Color Run

After inspiration from Bruce's brother and sister in law, we both decided to sign up for a 5K color run.  This was like no other run that I have participated in (granted it is only my 3rd 5K ever).  I am not much of a runner - sure I've run a few races, but I don't particularly enjoy running, and I am completely out of shape.  This race motivated me to do some running (although not as much as I really should), so I did do some training.  

On July 12, we headed up to Allentown to participate in this color run.  It took us a while to find the stadium where the event was taking place. A color festival was going on, and I wanted to spend some time enjoying the atmosphere, yet alone being worried that we wouldn't be able to pick up our event packet in enough time.  We did arrive 30 minutes before the start of the event, and in hindsight, it ended up being a good thing.  The festival wasn't much to awe at.  Instead of being the carnival-like attraction I was expecting, it was full of crowds of people drinking, colored powder for air, and loud headbanging music with a DJ who was just plain annoying.  The 30 minutes prior to race time was long enough.  Besides that, my children are not crowd people, so their excitement about the event was completely nil. 

 Here is our before picture featuring clean and non sweaty bodies.  

I tried to get a picture of the colored powder people were pouring everywhere, but the air was so full of dust, I really didn't know what I was taking a picture of.  

 With a handful of chips and a bowlful of snacks, the kids were ready to start the race.  Next time, I might just make Bruce push me along in the stroller too - it is certainly easier for me that way.  I will say that the kids were not thrilled by the prospect of us dressing up with color.  Both children cried relentlessly when Bruce and I gently poured some color on ourselves.  Zaby had a terrified expression on his face as if we were seriously hurting each other by this colored powder.

Here we are all guzzied up and ready to race.

When the race began, there were so many people packed at the start line, it made it nearly impossible to get going at all, especially not with a double jogging stroller.  We probably spent the first quarter of a mile of the race trying to maneuver around the walkers, and get to a point where we could work up to the resemblance of a jog.  As mentioned before, this was not like any race I've ever an in because in fact, it wasn't a race at all.  Many people were not in any hurry to start or finish.  Very few people actually jogged, and even fewer actually finished the entire race.  We ran through a parking lot in which the trail was looped around, so the majority of the people just cut through the cones instead of running the full track.  I am proud to say that I ran the entire race (save it be the first quarter mile trying to get through a literal wall of people, and one slight hill).  They didn't have any mile markers, so I really had no idea when I was near the end of the race.  I didn't think I was going to make it, and suddenly I was there at the end with a new spout of color thrown at me.  I have no idea how well I did because they didn't track time.  If I were interested in a competitive race, this color run was not the one to complete.  But it was fun nonetheless.

Here is the crew hot and sweaty and covered with colored powder at the end of the race.  The race environment after I finished was louder and more boisterous than the before party.  Another wave of night runners were gearing up to start their section of the race.  During our cool down, Zaby saw this air blown bobble thing and was completely fascinated. Every time the blue thing moved its arm, Zaby waved and said, "Hi," over and over again.  It was the cutest thing!

We sat on the lawn afterward to stretch, and eat dinner.  I wanted a picture that would show the color I had on me.  Eliza volunteered to take it, and this rather scary looking person is what she came up with.

 This close up of Bruce that I took is much more becoming.

 This is a better one of me - at least I don't look quite as demonic.  

 Eliza took one more of us stretching on the lawn before the novelty of a wide open space set in for her, and the kids were off running around.

The biggest accomplishment is that I finished the race, and I wasn't even sore afterwards.  When you haven't run in a long time, even a simple 5K sounds daunting.  I wish I could say that I kept up my running schedule, but I haven't - I moved on to water walking instead.  

Eliza's 3rd Birthday

 It's completely hard to believe that my little girl just turned 3.  I swear I was just bringing her home from the hospital last month.  But 3 she is, and a wonderful 3 year old to boot.

As Eliza exited her bedroom, we greeted her with the Happy Birthday song.  The first words Eliza uttered were, "Where's my present?  I want to help wrap them."  I just had to chuckle at her excitement - the girl loves presents.  She often carries some of her things around in gift bags and wants me to "open" them.  Every day, she gives me something that she likes and says it is my present.  Her love language must be gift giving and gift receiving.  After a breakfast favorite of chocolate chip pancakes, Eliza could hardly contain her excitement.  She voted to open gifts immediately after breakfast, and since we thought she might want to spend the day playing with her new toys, we consented.

We had three presents for her to open.  After seeing the packages, and with a cute little smile on her face, she said, "I want more presents - put them in lots of bags."  So, when Eliza wasn't looking, Bruce divided up her gifts into twice as many bags to make the birthday princess happy. As evidenced by the smile on her face, she was happy - her presents were pink and yellow, her favorite colors.

Watching children open gifts is one of the best things in the world. The expression on her face was one of pure joy. She showed excitement and love for every single present. 

Bruce and I gave her a smart play pad, a set of Sesame Street books, and a Dora tricycle.  She got a Dora outfit, movie, and box of Dora fruit snacks from Grandma Richards, and a Dora hairbrush and Dora stickers from Zabien.  

After presents, we went outside for her to try out her new bike. She did pretty well for her first time, I hope that she will learn how to pedal and steer by the end of the summer. It was a bit of a rainy day, so she spent most of the afternoon reading her new Sesame Street books, playing with her smart pad, and watching her new Dora movie she got from grandma.

After she rode around outside for a while, the neighbor Brandon came over to see if she wanted to play.  Normally, Eliza is pretty quiet around Brandon; she will play with him, but isn't one to say much.  However, she was so excited about her birthday and her presents, that she talked his ear off for 20 minutes straight.  She told him all about each one of her presents, and even brought him inside to show him each one of her new books (they came in a set of 18).  I'm happy that she was so excited about her presents.

(In this picture, she is telling Brandon all about her presents, even though they are not currently looking at them)

Later, her friend, Ally, came over for dinner.  After a quick family home evening lesson, they went outside to play in the pool. Giggles and squeals permeated the air making it evident that this was the best activity.

Love this photo - she's got the best facial expression

What a silly dad - that slide looks a bit small

 When it started raining steadily again, we decided to go inside and have birthday cake. If her presents weren't evidence enough that she likes Dora, perhaps her cake is.

I am not a cake decorator by any means, but I gave it my best shot with a butter knife. Buying the Wilton frosting colors from Joann's certainly helped with getting the right colors.  I checked the cake pan out from the library.  Who knew that was a good place to get a hold of a variety of cake pans.  She was a little hesitant to eat the cake; I guess she didn't want to hurt Dora. She told me that it was a silly cake, and she didn't want to eat her eyes or mouth, only the backpack.

Unfortunately, my camera died during the middle of the Happy Birthday song - just know that she blew the candle out on the first try.  (I think this was the first year she was successful at that.)

Dear Eliza,

You are a beautiful, precious girl.  You are so smart and inquisitive.  You are bright and learn so quickly.  You are a great helper to your mom, and an even better big sister.  Zaby is your best friend, and you are quick to share with him and include him in your activities and pursuits.  You are silly, creative, talented, a great communicator, and you love juice.  You love to help mom make dinner, play the piano, make up songs, and read books.  I can't believe how much you have grown up, but I want you to know above all that mommy and daddy love you!!